COMMENTARY: I Agree With Obama, Redskins Should Drop Offensive Nickname

President Barack Obama took a break from a week-long government shutdown to weigh in on perhaps the second-most contentious issue in the nation’s capital: Changing the Washington Redskins nickname.

“If I were the owner of the team and I knew that the name of my team — even if they’ve had a storied history — was offending a sizable group of people, I’d think about changing it,” Obama told the Associated Press during an interview.

I agree with Obama.

With his ground-breaking comments, Obama has made history once again: He is perhaps the first sitting president to say he would consider changing the Washington Redskins nickname – and his truth could not have come at a better time in the debate.

“All these mascots and team names related to Native Americans, Native Americans feel pretty strongly about it,” Obama said Saturday. “And I don’t know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real, legitimate concerns that people have about these things.”

Obama is using his second term in office – and his White House bully pulpit — to confront racism and, in this case, the president is calling out the Redskins for its racially offensive nickname.

The Washington Redskins nickname is not only offensive – it’s racist. Native Americans have argued for years that the name offends them, but Redskins owner Dan Snyder has refused requests from Native Americans and others to change the name, which originated during the 1930s.

But take a moment to reflect on the magnitude of Obama’s statement.

As America’s first black president who has already told the nation that he has experienced racial discrimination and outright bigotry, Obama now wades into a highly emotional issue where he is essentially firing a shot over Synder’s bow by using five simple yet powerful words: “If I were the owner…”

Obama is a brilliant politician. He doesn’t make statements on the fly; he doesn’t utter comments without thinking it through; and he certainly would not inject himself into this hornet’s nest if he didn’t feel passionate about the cause. The president could have simply said nothing and let others argue the issue.

But he didn’t.

So why should Obama bother to talk about a sports issue and the Redskins changing its nickname? Because it’s not just a sports story – the “Redskins” nickname is a longstanding symbol of how American citizens are still being demeaned and who better to support Native Americans than America’s first black president.

“As the first sitting president to speak out against the Washington team name, President Obama’s comments are truly historic,” said Oneida Indian Nation representative Ray Halbritter. “The use of such an offensive term has negative consequences for the Native American community when it comes to issues of self-identity and imagery.”

Perhaps nothing will change. Synder will probably ignore Obama and it will be business as usual in the Redskins front office.

Lanny Davis, a Redskins attorney, said the name is “our history and legacy and tradition.”

“We at the Redskins respect everyone,” Davis said in a statement. “But like devoted fans of the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Blackhawks (from President Obama’s home town), we love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group.”

Davis doesn’t get it – and he’s not trying to get it. The other nicknames Davis mentioned are not racially offensive.

Meanwhile, Robert Klemko, a writer for “Monday Morning Quarterback,” a Sports Illustrated website, announced that the site will no longer use the “Redskins” name.

“I know that our site, we’ve talked about it, and we’re not going to use Redskins in our writing,” Klemko told CBS Sports Radio. “We’re going to say ‘Washington football team.’ And it’s not something we’re going to publicize or write about. We’re just not going to do it.”

Good for Klemko.

Native Americans have been fighting to get the Washington Redskins to change its name for the past 40 years when about a dozen American Indian representatives in 1972 demanded of then-team President Edward Bennett Williams that the Redskins get rid of a nickname they characterized as a “derogatory racial epithet.”

Undoubtedly, there will be those who will read this column and be angry. Outside my barber shop recently, a black man bristled at the notion of changing the name of his beloved Redskins. But minutes earlier, the same brother also argued that Obama must aggressively address the concerns of black people in America.

So Obama should push an agenda for African Americans but ignore Native Americans who view the Washington Redskins nickname as racist?

Obama admits that he is more familiar with basketball than football, but the Redskins nickname is more about racism – something the president knows all too well.

24. Me & Vanessa Williams giving #DuckLips #Pose on the set of #DaytimeDivas @vh1 - Coming Soon to a tv near you. Lol. - My make up done by @makeupsurgeon

Source:Instagram
24 of 30

25. This picture just makes me wanna praise the Lord, you hear me!!!!!! Yes Lord brotha #TEDDYCAMPBELL What a #man !!! You are everything right on this picture husband ......... #gorgeous #stylish #classy #strong #masculine #king #sexy #debonair #gentlemenstyle And that #bible in your hand just seals the deal for me (probably cause i know that, that is what helped you become just as amazing as you look😘). While my heart and mind experiences the goodness of God at #church on Sundays, my eyes experiences the goodness of Teddy😍. Amen somebody🙌🏽. "Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name" #myman #myhusband #goodman #blackman #dapperman #godlyman #goodfather #mybestfriend

Source:Instagram
25 of 30

26. Yesterday was my mama's 53rd birthday!!!!! Got to celebrate with her all day. If this is what I have to look forward to I can't wait. Looking like a soft bucket a cocoa butter. Yaaaaaaaaaas! 😍😍😍 love you mommy!

Source:Instagram
26 of 30

27. "Shout out to @PureAtlanta for getting the family right"....I'm loving this jogger. 😍😍

29. You will always be my baby😜. #HappyBirthdayReginae #mybaby18

Source:Instagram
29 of 30

30. GC "Gods Child" Red on Red SweatSuit available now at www.MonicaApparel.com ... Take Your Crown wherever you go!! I'm pictured in a Medium... Go to the site now for other options ... cc: @trukernell

This Week’s Celebrity Instagrams (11/26-12/2)

12 thoughts on “COMMENTARY: I Agree With Obama, Redskins Should Drop Offensive Nickname”

If not now, when? The time is right to talk about the issues of racially inflammatory names used to brand teams or merchandise. If it is considered derogatory, insulting and demeaning to our Native American brothers and sisters it is imperative to support their cause and concern. Our beloved country, which is the land of the free and the home of the brave, unfortunately has an uncomplimentary history of disregarding the rights and concerns for people of color. It is important to have the conversation and take the high road of making long overdue changes to issues and practices that are considered discriminatory. Money nor misguided traditions should not impede a moral imperative.

The President should worry about being the president and getting the economy running- hell how about getting the government running again!? Besides, Redskins or any other indian moniker is not offensive. The government uses indian names in the names of all their attack helicopters! Kiowa, Blackhawk, Apache and Iroquois etc. We would complain if the named the team the Washington White Men or Ku Kluxers! The Redskin football team is a private “business” and they can name themselves whatever they feel. …always tryna tell somebody else how to run their shit…dayum!

Look out, Cleveland “Browns”! They’re coming after you next! Sheesh! Redskin it not a ‘racial’ name; it’s a descriptor, like ‘redskin’ peanuts. Guess that has to be changed, too. My family is part Indian (Cherokee and Blackfoot), and our skin has a definite reddish tint – especially when we’re in the sun a long time. And if someone points it out, we don’t care. We think it’s pretty. Heck, my Grandpa’s nickname was “Red.” Everybody called him that. He’d tell the whiners to get a life!

If the President really want to cease from offending Native Americans, and do the right thing, he could start by turning this country back over to its rightful owner. After all, according to a recent study, most Native Americans stated that they do not find the name “Redskins” offensive. All it takes are a few agitators to manufacture fake public outrage. Furthermore, if you notice, it is not the people that suppose to be offended making the most noise; it’s those that have determine to speak on their behalf. Find something meaningful to whine about.

It’s just a commentary people, geez, get a grip and stay on the subject! And it has nothing to do with the DC shooting, so how that relates is beyond me. I commend the president speaking up against a wrong, no matter how old it is. If it was a slur against blacks, then would you care more? This name is a racial slur, and at the time, owners were racist, plain and simple. Black & Native have been banned from most places, especially sports team (know your history). Decades later, it’s just accepted and the meaning of the word is buried under the screams of cheering fans who are clueless about the whole issue. Native Americans are ignored by most of the country and I support their fight.

At this point it don’t matter. Overall just more BS talk and hype,pretending and acting.
Instead of this,how about saying something concerning how that black woman was executed in the car. There is a clip supposedly where they took the baby out the car,then shot this woman.
If they had enough time to take the baby out. They had more than enough to arrest this woman without killing her.